The Woolen Rabbit

What the Hull?

I thought I would be smart this time around and work 2 socks at the same time, as I bought an additional set of Harmony dp's.  I'm not so sure now it was a smart thing to do.......can you see anything funky about these socks?

Yep, the one on the right is a bit smaller than the one on the left.  How could that happen?  I opened up the package of newer needles to do the first sock, which is the one on the left and it looks perfect.  I used my old needles for the one on the right....and it is definitely smaller.

The strange thing is, a few months ago, I knit up a second pair of Tesserae's and they came out a bit smaller than the first pair that I knit too.  I thought that perhaps I had knit the first pair with a larger sized needle than what I had recorded on Ravelry....but now that I have run into the same thing here, I am completely perplexed, as I know I did not mistake a 2.25 for a 2.0 and the new needles are definitely the 2.25mm ones.

I tried putting both sets of needles into my needle size gauge and sadly, I can not see a difference......acck!  I SO wish that needle makers would put the sizes on the needles.  I certainly wouldn't mind paying a bit extra...would you?

So much for speeding along, I will have to rip out the smaller sock and I think I will try again with an old pair of susan bates 2.25 and see what I get.

Anyhoo.......a little bit about the pattern.  I first saw the sock pattern on Pat's blog.  She used some of my Harmony sock yarn and I just loved how the yarn worked up with the pattern.  The pattern is called Cable Twist socks and is designed by Adrian of Hello Yarn.  Using a fingering weight yarn required a modification and you can read just how Pat did that on her blog.

It's an easy and fun pattern to knit!

You guys rock....thank you!

Last night as I was moving some things around on my blog, I checked on my little friend, Morgan's memory tree and saw that we were only 3 ornaments shy of 100.

I am always blown away by the generosity of knitters.  Morgan's Christmas tree has become my yearly donation and I want to thank each one of you who joined me in donating a lunch for life. 

Cancer is such a dreadful disease and even more so when it snuffs out the light of a vibrant and energenic child.  It is my hope that Neuroblastoma will be a curable cancer in the future and each dollar that goes towards research is one step closer to that goal......so THANK YOU!!!
 
I also want to thank you all for the helpful tips sent my way for the edges on the Etheral Fichu. Gayle was kind enough to suggest substituting a K2 on the end knit side and a K1,YO on the purl side and you know what.......it works perfectly!
Thanks Gayle!!

Now lest you think I am going to continue with daily blogging, I can assure you that I am not.  I am going to try blogging daily during the week and take the weekends off....but, if I find I don't have anything to say, I am giving myself permission not to post too......here's a little of that trying to be kinder to myself this year....;)

Have a GREAT weekend!

Reflections........

 
(picture taken by Ashley Spalding)
This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.

In the beginning, all things are hopeful.  We prepare ourselves to start anew.  Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
Deng Ming~Dao

I have never been one to make resolutions at the beginning of the New Year.  Why put pressure on oneself to potentially fail, especially at the beginning of a new year?  I try to set small positive goals instead.  Even though I am now 50 years old, I keep sticking with baby steps, hopefully going forward, but knowing I will take a few steps back as well.

One thing I have found over the years is that I tend to be hard on myself, as I am sure many of you are as well.  I think it is a woman thing...don't you?  I bet you have just as hard of a time sitting in front of the tv without some sort of knitting in your hands, while perhaps your SO is comfortably stretched out on the sofa watching the ball game.  Our mothers programed us well, didn't they....or did they?

 There are many days that I think to myself ....geez grrl, you are not getting many things finished, but yet today when I finally got around to putting all of my finished items for the year in a photo album, I realized that I actually did get a lot done, especially given my workload.

So........even though I don't make resolutions, this year I am going to make a small, positive one.  I am going to try to stop being so hard on myself.  To stop pushing beyond what is reasonable and to take a break to enjoy the quiet moments that come along the way when I can.

How about you?  What are your resolutions?